How a Parent’s Death Can Cut Short a Child’s Dream

These days, most kids dream about going to college so they can get a good job and live a comfortable lifestyle. But with a four-year degree often costing $50,000 a year or more, that dream is becoming increasingly difficult to realize.

Even with both parents working, paying for a child’s college education can be a struggle. But what happens in the case of an unexpected death of a parent? Unless you have sufficient life insurance to cover your child’s higher education expenses, their dream of a college degree may never become a reality.

Using the money from a life insurance for parents policy to set up a trust fund can make it easier for your child to attend college in several ways. First and most importantly, it can prevent your child from taking on financially crippling debt in order to get that coveted college degree. Research shows that people with a college degree earn significantly more over the course of a lifetime than non-college graduates. But it can take years to pay off student debt, which could prevent your child from saving for a home and other major life expenses.

The death of a parent may require your child may to pay for your funeral and burial expenses, which can quickly add up to thousands of dollars. If your child is listed as co-signer on any debts you have (mortgage, loans, etc.) he or she will be liable for those debts. For someone hoping to get through college, even a small amount of debt can make it impossible. If the debt is large enough, it could financially ruin them. Having life insurance for parents can protect your child from these and other stressful economic difficulties.

No Life Insurance for Parents Meant Learning to Do Without

John Chick was an only child whose father died of lung cancer when John was only four years old. Sadly, his father did not have life insurance for parents, which meant John spent most of his childhood learning to do without. The constant financial struggle to make ends meet changed his life forever, shattering his dreams of a happy childhood and causing endless stress and worry for his mother.

As the sole provider, John’s mother worked long, hard hours to support the family. Yet, putting food on the table often meant foregoing some other necessity of life, and the two lived under the constant threat of losing their home. Even after his mother cashed in the family’s meager life savings to obtain a teaching credential and get a better job, they still lived from paycheck to paycheck, often having to go without.

Despite the difficulties, John worked hard in school and earned acceptance to one of the best engineering colleges in the U.S. Looking back, though, he wishes life for himself and his mother hadn’t been so difficult.

“Life didn’t work out the way we expected, and life insurance would have been a godsend,” he says. “It would have helped us get back on our feet after my father died, and relieved the stress of constantly worrying about how to pay for groceries and other expenses. If you ask me, life insurance for parents is a necessity!”

You can protect your child(ren) from a life of having to do without with an affordable life insurance for parents policy. Visit IntelliQuote to receive a quote comparison from up to six leading insurance carriers.